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en-USmemberservices@staffingindustry.com (Administrator User)Sun, 02 Aug 2015 22:53:05 +0000Sun, 02 Aug 2015 22:53:03 +0000eZ Components Feed dev (http://ezcomponents.org/docs/tutorials/Feed)http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationJapan – Media Five’s staffing business reports growthhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Media-Five-s-staffing-business-reports-growth-34702
<p>Media Five Co, (3824: JP), a Japanese software developer and provider of engineers to the IT industry, yesterday reported revenue for the year ending 31 May 2015 of JPY 1,092 million (USD 8.8 million), an increase of 4.2% compared with JPY 1,048 million (USD 8.5 million) last year.&nbsp;</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="115" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2015</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2014</strong>
</td><td width="84" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="115" valign="top"> Revenue
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 1,092 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 1,048 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +4.2%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 8.8 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 8.5 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="115" valign="top"> Gross Profit
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 416 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 385 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +8.1%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 3.4 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 3.1 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="115" valign="top"> Net Income
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 18 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 16 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +7.0%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 145,852
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 129,646
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Media Five operates two primary business segments: Business-to-Business, which includes the company’s staffing operations; and Business-to-Consumer, which involves software and project development. In addition to those businesses Media Five also operates a construction business. Any other operations not included within the aforementioned business segments are reported as Other.&nbsp;</p><p>Revenue during the year was broken down as follows:</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="178" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2015</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2014</strong>
</td><td width="84" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> B-to-B
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 973.4 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 890.1 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +9.4%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 7.9 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 7.2 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> B-to-C
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 34.0 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 63.7 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> -46.6%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 275,498
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 516,153
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> Construction
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 56.8 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 87.0 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> -34.7%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 460,243
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 704,950
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> Other
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 28.8 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 8.1 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +256.1%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 233,363
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 65,633
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>In trading yesterday, the company’s share price closed up 5% at JPY 485 (USD 3.93), an increase of 55.5% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of JPY 433.4 million (USD 3.5 million).</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Media-Five-s-staffing-business-reports-growth-34702Wed, 15 Jul 2015 11:24:38 +0000Japan – Temporary and contract staffing revenue boosts Pasona’s resultshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Temporary-and-contract-staffing-revenue-boosts-Pasona-s-results-34703
<p>Japanese staffing firm Pasona Group (2168: JP) today reported revenue for the year ending 31 May 2015 of JPY 226.2 billion (USD 1.8 billion), an increase of 8.4% compared with JPY 208.7 billion (USD 1.7 billion) the previous year.</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="115" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2015</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2014</strong>
</td><td width="84" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="115" valign="top"> Revenue
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 226,227 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 208,660 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +8.4%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 1,833 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 1,691 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="115" valign="top"> Gross Profit
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 45,871 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 40,239 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +14.0%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 371.8 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 326.1 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="115" valign="top"> Net Income
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 214 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 526 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> -59.3%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 1.7 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 4.3 million
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Despite the increase in revenue and gross profit, Pasona’s net income decreased as a result of increased SG&A costs, directly attributed to the company’s recent acquisitions.</p><p>Through its subsidiaries, Pasona provides human resource solutions in Japan and internationally. It offers temporary staffing/contracting, outsourcing, and outplacement services. Aspects of Pasona’s business that are not reportable under these divisions have been combined under ‘Other’.</p><p>Revenue breakdown during the year by business segment was as follows:</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="178" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2015</strong>
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> <strong>FY 2014</strong>
</td><td width="84" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> Temporary Staffing / Contracting
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 191,442 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 174,816 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +9.5%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 1,551 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 1,417 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> Outplacement
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 8,802 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 10,342 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> -14.9%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 71.3 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 83.8 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> Outsourcing
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 21,364 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 20,129 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +6.1%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 173.1 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 163.1 million
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td rowspan="2" width="178" valign="top"> Other
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 4,617 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> JPY 3,371 million
</td><td rowspan="2" width="84" valign="top"> +37.0%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 37.4 million
</td><td width="171" valign="top"> USD 27.3 million
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>During the year, Pasona announced two acquisitions. In October 2014 the company reached an agreement to <strong><a href="/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Pasona-to-acquire-majority-stake-in-one-of-Panasonic-s-non-staffing-businesses-31674" target="_blank">acquire 66.5% of the total share capital of Panasonic Business Service</a></strong>, a wholly owned non-staffing subsidiary of electronics giant Panasonic. The share purchase is understood to have been completed on 1 April 2015.</p><p>In March 2015, Pasona announced that it would <strong><a href="/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Pasona-acquires-Indonesian-staffing-and-training-firm-33511" target="_blank">acquire 49% of the outstanding shares in Indonesian staffing firm Duta Griya Sarana</a> </strong>(DGS). The acquisition made Pasona DGS’ largest shareholder, with the company becoming a subsidiary of Pasona. The deal closed in May 2015.</p><p>The company operates in Japan and internationally but provides no geographical breakdown of revenue.</p><p>In trading today, the company’s share price closed down 0.5% at JPY 1,116 (USD 9.04), an increase of 95.5% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of JPY 46.5 billion (USD 377 million).&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Temporary-and-contract-staffing-revenue-boosts-Pasona-s-results-34703Wed, 15 Jul 2015 11:26:27 +0000New Zealand – ICT graduates a drop in an empty buckethttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/New-Zealand-ICT-graduates-a-drop-in-an-empty-bucket-34714
<p>The New Zealand government’s ICT graduate schools announced today that they will only be able to train a tiny fraction of the workers the ICT sector is crying out for, David Cunliffe, Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson announced.</p><p>“The industry estimates it has a shortage of 10,000 skilled workers, with some putting the shortfall as high as 15,000. The Auckland and Christchurch graduate schools announced by Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today will only train 350 a year at most.</p><p>“Some of this shortfall is currently being made up by low-level private training courses, which are targeted at mainly migrant students. There are also concerns a traditional degree programme is too slow and unwieldly to adapt to the fast changing needs of the high tech market.”</p><p>“What our tech sector needs is a proper skills strategy rather than this token effort that will producing a few hundred rather than the thousands of ICT professionals New Zealand needs,” he concluded.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/New-Zealand-ICT-graduates-a-drop-in-an-empty-bucket-34714Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:59:29 +0000Nepal – Overseas recruitment agencies strike continueshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Nepal-Overseas-recruitment-agencies-strike-continues-34715
<p>The frontline services of Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) remained closed as a result of the indefinite strike called by the country’s foreign employment recruiting agencies, reports <em><a href="http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2015/07/14/news/recruiting-agencies-continue-strike-govt-not-to-back-down/278426.html" target="_blank">ekantipur.com</a></em>.</p><p>The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (Nafea) launched its strike on 8 July in protest of the government’s decision to waive the visa fee and airfare for workers going to six Gulf countries and Malaysia.</p><p>An estimated 2,000 overseas jobseekers have been affected by the strike each day, officials at the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) said.</p><p>According to the new regulation, workers going to Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait will only have to pay a maximum of NPR 10,000 (USD 97) in service charge to the recruiting agencies.</p><p>Previously, jobseekers were charged much higher fees, even though the government stipulated a maximum charge of NPR 70,000 (USD 677) to travel to Gul countries and NPR 80,000 (USD 773) for workers travelling to Malaysia.</p><p>An estimated 3.5 million Nepali migrant workers are employed in these countries.</p><p>A meeting between the government and the overseas recruitment agencies, in an attempt to resume foreign employment services, ended inconclusively on Tuesday.</p><p>Kumud Khanal, Vice Chairman of Nafea, said his side had presented a 30-point plan to the government as the precondition of resuming overseas employment services. However, the government representatives left the meeting to participate in the budget speech without clarifying their position.</p><p>“Our protest will continue until the government roll backs its decision,” Mr Khanal stated.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Nepal-Overseas-recruitment-agencies-strike-continues-34715Thu, 16 Jul 2015 11:00:17 +0000India – The world’s future human resource capitalhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-The-world-s-future-human-resource-capital-34716
<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a programme yesterday aimed at imparting skills training to more than 400 million Indians over the next seven years "to make India the world's human resource capital", reports <em><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/modi-launches-bid-india-hr-capital-world-170443687--finance.html?nf=1" target="_blank">news.yahoo.com</a></em>.</p><p>Mr Modi described the plan as a key step in overcoming the problem Indian companies have of filling existing jobs due to a lack of skilled manpower: "Today China is the world's manufacturing hub and with this scheme, playing to our strength, India can aim to be the world's human resource capital.”</p><p>The government estimates that the workforce shortage us around 110 million, in key sectors such as retail, textile and clothing, and tourism.</p><p>"With only 2.3% of the workforce having received a formal training, India currently faces a severe shortage of well-trained, skilled workers," Skill Development and Entrepreneurship minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy told AFP earlier this week.</p><p>He added, however, that the "12-week training under the programme will now ensure you a job that 12 years of compulsory (school) education may not".</p><p>The scheme will utilise the existing network of around 12,000 industrial training institutes along with decommissioned railway carriages, containers as mobile-makeshift classrooms for remote areas.</p><p>"We will also set a specific skills university in every state and hire around 60,000 retired defence personnel for training to be skill-trainers," Mr Rudy said.</p><p>The announcement provided no details regarding funding, officials however said that the government expected close private sector participation.</p><p>Mr Modi, who won office on a promise of jobs and economic growth, repeatedly emphasised the scheme's scope for job creation, particularly for the "economically weaker sections of the society".</p><p>"This isn't for the rich but for the poor and economically weaker sections where students often don't even complete formal school education. It will empower them with training and confidence to not just serve India but even prosperous countries across the world that need trained manpower," he added.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-The-world-s-future-human-resource-capital-34716Thu, 16 Jul 2015 11:01:11 +0000Australia – Demand for executives growing, albeit unevenlyhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Demand-for-executives-growing-albeit-unevenly-34717
<p>Demand for executives increased by 12% in Australia between June 2014 and June 2015 according to executive search firm E.L Consult. On a month-on-month basis, however, demand decreased by 1%.</p><p>Grant Montgomery, Managing Director of E.L Consult, said the month was a ‘wishy washy’ end to a very positive financial year: “For the first time since the beginning of the global financial crisis executive demand has risen over the space of a financial year. From June 2014 to June 2015 executive demand rose by 12%, prompted by record low interest rates and an economy, which, if not flying was, at least, highly positive especially in light of the end of the mining sector boom.</p><p>“These gains suggest the Australian economy is ‘moving on’ from the heady growth of the mining boom and now re-establishing itself in other areas such as infrastructure and housing construction.”</p><p>Mr Montgomery said the June result with a small drop of just 1% wasn’t much more than the seasonal adjustment often seen at the end of a financial year when companies put employment plans on hold and complete the last year’s outstanding projects and finalise accounts.</p><p>“The fall in June occurs after four consecutive months of increases from January to April and in effect is a slight consolidation. This small adjustment comes at a time of considerable international calamity as the Chinese stock market value drops trillions and the Greek debt threatens the stability of the Euro.&nbsp;&nbsp;In this light and compared to other economies around the world Australia is travelling OK.” Mr Montgomery explained.</p><p>In another very interesting analysis of the results it appears that the bigger economies are again the engine rooms of Australia with the smaller states falling well behind.</p><p>For example, in mid-2011 New South Wales (NSW) represented 32% of all executive jobs and Victoria 25%.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now four years on and post the mining investment boom, NSW has a massive 45% of all new executive jobs and Victoria 31%.</p><p>The two big states now represent together 77% of all executive positions, which speaks well of these economies but can also be an indication of potential problems down the track.</p><p>“Nothing is starker about the end of the mining boom than the states of Western Australia and Queensland’s executive employment.&nbsp;Most new engineering jobs, in particular, which are closely correlated to capital investment have moved to NSW and Victoria. More executive jobs in the main capitals has, no doubt, helped fuel the&nbsp;real estate boom in those States and could over time stifle regional development and increase geographic inequity.” Mr Montgomery commented.</p><p>The worst performer overall this month was information technology, which showed a drop of over 20% but this is quite common at this time of year.</p><p>“The E.L Index measures only the most senior technology positions and is therefore linked to large systems investment and development. It is not surprising that companies are not increasing their IT executive team, while the nation’s computers are heavily committed to crunching year end numbers.” Mr Montgomery concluded.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Demand-for-executives-growing-albeit-unevenly-34717Thu, 16 Jul 2015 11:01:49 +0000Australia – Alexander Mann Solutions launches RPO offering in countryhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Alexander-Mann-Solutions-launches-RPO-offering-in-country-34729
<p>Talent acquisition and management services provider&nbsp;Alexander Mann Solutions announced the launch of RPO Accelerate in the Australian market.&nbsp;The recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) option delivers a full end-to-end RPO service.&nbsp;</p><p>The solution provides a fully-managed outsourcing platform for companies that may lack the resources to fulfil their own recruiting needs. The fully-inclusive pricing structure will provide certainty for clients, with built-in flexibility and a range of add-ons allowing them to adapt the platform to their own unique needs.</p><p>Caleb Baker, Managing Director, APAC & Emerging Markets, Alexander Mann Solutions, commented: “RPO Accelerate leverages industry-leading talent sourcing approaches, technologies and insight to help organisations identify, engage and recruit the best available talent in Australia. It enables organisations with limited HR or talent infrastructures—such as small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)—to take advantage of best practice talent acquisition processes and a pre-defined yet flexible technology architecture.”</p><p>With full end-to-end RPO, Alexander Mann Solutions takes ownership of the entire talent acquisition lifecycle on behalf of a client and delivers the service from a standardised platform in one central location. The service will be driven by a dedicated virtual team in Alexander Mann Solutions’ Global Client Service Centres in Europe, Asia and North America.</p><p>According to figures posted by Deloitte1, 41% of Australian SMBs have medium to high digital engagement. Services like RPO Accelerate, which are delivered digitally, will allow this trend to continue as higher engagement with online services continues to rise in Australia.</p><p>RPO Accelerate provides benefits across three dimensions:</p>
<ul>
<li>It ensures effective relationship management, governance and professional support to service users and stakeholders—including hiring managers and candidates.</li>
<li>The solution delivers scalable sourcing, screening and administration capabilities to help organisations engage and select the best candidates, while enabling them to gain process efficiencies and improve quality.</li>
<li>It provides transparency and visibility, both to the service and its performance.</li>
</ul>
memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Alexander-Mann-Solutions-launches-RPO-offering-in-country-34729Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:04:20 +0000Australia – Temporary and contract roles buoying transport and logistics sectorhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Temporary-and-contract-roles-buoying-transport-and-logistics-sector-34730
<p>The number of jobs advertised in Australia’s Transport, Logistics & Supply Chain (TLSC) sector increased by 12.6% in June 2015, compared with the same month last year, according to the Labourforce/Impex TLSC Index from recruitment firm Labourforce.</p><p>The Index reported an increase of 1.1% in June compared with May, arresting three consecutive monthly declines.</p><p>The Index increased from 109.6 in June, with the impact of the aforementioned declines meaning that demand has decreased nationally by 3.6% over the past six months.</p><p>Demand for TLSC workers increased by 12.6% over the past 12 months; although all of the gains were made between June and December 2014, the longer term trend is still very favourable and higher than most other sectors in Australia.</p><p>All of the growth both in June 2015 and since the start of the year stemmed from temporary and contract roles. Over the past 12 months the temporary and contract market increased by 29.8%, with the index sitting at a record high of 132.37 in June.</p><p>In contrast, the permanent recruitment market has decreased every month between February and May 2015, increasing month-on-month in June, but only by 0.1%.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="content-view-embed class-image line-image noalign"><img src="/var/ezwebin_site/storage/images/media/images/160715-pix/7833367-1-eng-US/160715-pix_large.jpg" alt="" /></div><p>&nbsp;Western Australia experienced another fall in June but only of 1.2%, providing at least a temporary reprieve from a market in freefall for much of 2015. The Index sits at 82 89, a decrease of 25.1% over the past six months. The slowing down in Mining and Resources investment accounts for much of this downturn.</p><p>Victoria seems to have recovered from a run of bad figures. In June TLSC opportunities in the state finally rose 0.2% but levels are still down 12.3% from where they stood at the beginning of the year.</p><p>NSW enjoyed a very robust June rising 3.7%. The market has improved steadily since mid-2014 when the market was very soft. A pick up in construction and infrastructure activities and in retail may account for much of this positive momentum.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Temporary-and-contract-roles-buoying-transport-and-logistics-sector-34730Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:07:00 +0000New Zealand – Demand for labour weakeninghttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/New-Zealand-Demand-for-labour-weakening-34731
<p>Demand for labour continues to ease across New Zealand, but is growing in Auckland and Hawke's Bay on the North Island, according to the latest job advertising data from ANZ Bank, reports <em>guide2.co.nz</em>.</p><p>Total job advertising fell by 0.6% in June (seasonally adjusted), meaning job advert numbers have declined for five of the past six months.</p><p>Sharon Zollner, Senior Economist at ANZ, commented: "Nationally, the data suggests labour demand is weakening, consistent with easing employment intentions in our ANZ Survey of Business Confidence. It suggests employers are increasingly thinking twice before advertising for new staff as a result of strengthening economic headwinds.”</p><p>"We expect modest employment growth this year, partly due to lower economic growth, and partly because of skill shortages," she added.</p><p>Internet job adverts fell by 2.6% in June; however, on a three-month average they are up 4.2% year-on-year.</p><p>Newspaper job advertising reversed its sharp May fall, rising 22%, but on a smoothed three-month basis decreased by 24.1% compared with a year ago.</p><p>On a three-month average, Auckland has 7.6% more total job adverts than a year ago; while Canterbury and Wellington reported decreases of 9.2% and 4.1%, respectively.</p><p>ANZ forecasts unemployment to hover around its current rate (5.8%) for the rest of the year.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/New-Zealand-Demand-for-labour-weakening-34731Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:07:56 +0000Singapore – Contract hiring helping to stem the talent shortagehttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Contract-hiring-helping-to-stem-the-talent-shortage-34732
<p>Contract employment is on the rise across Singapore, with hiring managers using contract workers to address challenges in permanent headcount approvals, according to the latest Singapore Contracting Survey from recruitment firm Robert Walters.</p><p>A survey of 300 local professionals found that the majority of headcount freezes often stem from head offices, a situation that leaves hiring managers searching for a flexible interim workforce solution.</p><p>Joel Hides, Director of Robert Walters Singapore, commented: “The reality of the current employment market across sectors is that permanent headcount restrictions exist.”</p><p>“When news around a hiring freeze is released, this usually results in an increase in contracting opportunities. Hence, specialist contractors in Singapore are now seeing a higher percentage of jobs available for short-term employment. These opportunities are excellent chances of gaining experience in varied industries,” he added.</p><p>Echoing this, the report found that 46% of professionals see contracting as an opportunity to gain more experience, better exposure and learn new skills.</p><p>
Four-out-of-10 (40%) contractors said that&nbsp;getting converted&nbsp;from a temporary to a<br /> permanent position is&nbsp;important but not essential.</p><p>The report stated: “The inclusion of contracting professionals in the workforce planning of organisations in Singapore has proven to be a viable option. Employers have the option of accessibility to specialist skills when needed for project-based assignments, maternity cover or filling in for permanent headcount freezes.”</p><p>In addition, the report also found that line managers can trial the contractor for skill sets, cultural fit, and soft skills before deciding if they would like to convert the position to a permanent role.</p><p>For more information, <a href="http://www.robertwalters.com.sg/contractor-zone/for-contractors/are-you-facing-a-hiring-freeze.html" target="_blank">click here</a>.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Contract-hiring-helping-to-stem-the-talent-shortage-34732Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:09:10 +0000India – Forcing companies to disclose gender pay gaps would boost earnings parityhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Forcing-companies-to-disclose-gender-pay-gaps-would-boost-earnings-parity-34745
<p>Forcing companies in India to disclose gender pay gaps would result in greater earnings parity between male and female workers, according to HR experts, reports <em><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/pay-gap-disclosure-will-ensure-earning-parity-in-india-115071900089_1.html" target="_blank">business-standard.com</a></em>.</p><p>With India having already taken steps toward mandating that companies place a woman on the corporate board, an initiative like disclosing pay gaps is a good idea, experts said.&nbsp;</p><p>Last week, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced plans to force large companies to publish the difference in earnings between male and female staff in a bid to ensure equal pay.&nbsp;</p><p>Pivush Mehta, SVP of Human Resources for business process outsourcing firm Genpact, commented: "Given that India has taken the step towards mandating a woman on the board, this might not be far behind. However I don't think we should wait for legislation to drive this.”&nbsp;</p><p>In India, most listed and reputable organisations have an equal opportunity policy, which also takes into consideration fair pay for the job done. But much needs to be assessed before concluding where the country stands, experts added.&nbsp;</p><p>According to a study released by research firm Catalyst there are considerable gender pay gaps within the tech sector, as well as across other industry sectors.&nbsp;</p><p>Catalyst's research on the technology sector said women and men start out as equals with equal pay and responsibility. But pay gaps emerge over time and by the time they are about 12 years into their careers women lag behind to a tune of INR 380,000 (USD 5,996) per years.&nbsp;</p><p>"While Indian corporates have done a lot about improving diversity ratios in their respective organisations, not much has been researched on earning parity in the Indian scenario in various industries," Tata Steel Chief Diversity Officer Atrayee S Sanyal said, adding that "this will need focus and [to] gather momentum once the representation of women become more common place especially in leadership roles".&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Forcing-companies-to-disclose-gender-pay-gaps-would-boost-earnings-parity-34745Mon, 20 Jul 2015 10:34:47 +0000Malaysia – New Employment Pass category announcedhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Malaysia-New-Employment-Pass-category-announced-34746
<p>Malaysia’s Expatriate Services Division (ESD) has announced that it has launched a new employment pass category, effective from 15 July 2015, reports <em><a href="http://www.relocatemagazine.com/news/reeditor-07-d2-2015-malaysia--new-employment-pass-category-announced" target="_blank">relocatemagazine.com</a></em>.</p><p>The new category, to be known as EPIII (Employment Pass III), allows work to be carried out for a monthly salary of less than the standard minimum MYR 5,000 (USD 1,313).</p><p>The basic monthly salary for the EPIII is between MYR 2,500 (USD 657) and MYR 5,000 (USD 1,313) and must not exceed 12 months The EPIII is also only permitted in industries that fall within the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA):</p>
<ul>
<li>Agriculture</li>
<li>Business services </li>
<li>Communication content and infrastructure</li>
<li>Electronics and electrical</li>
<li>Education</li>
<li>Financial services</li>
<li>Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley regions</li>
<li>Healthcare</li>
<li>Oil, gas, and energy</li>
<li>Palm oil</li>
<li>Tourism</li>
<li>Wholesale and retail</li>
</ul>
<p>Before submitting the application to the ESD, companies must obtain approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) to gain exemption from the minimum basic salary requirement of MYR 5,000 per month.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Malaysia-New-Employment-Pass-category-announced-34746Mon, 20 Jul 2015 10:35:54 +0000Japan – New system to be launched to fill IT skills shortages with graduates from India and Vietnamhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-New-system-to-be-launched-to-fill-IT-skills-shortages-with-graduates-from-India-and-Vietnam-34747
<p>Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry plans to launch a system next financial year that will help recent Asian university graduates and others invited to Japan find employment in an effort to alleviate the shortage of information technology professionals, reports <em><a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Regional/2015/07/20/Japan-to-target-Asian-students-to-secure-IT-workforce/" target="_blank">thestar.com.my</a></em>.</p><p>The ministry will first target Indians and Vietnamese and aim to secure about 10,000 IT workers, according to sources.</p><p>The ministry envisages creating a system in which Asian university IT graduates and other select people will relocate to Japan to learn Japanese and then find employment at Japanese companies. It plans to include related costs in its budgetary request for financial year 2016 to launch the system in that financial year.</p><p>Under the system, Asian students will be introduced to places to study and work in Japan. The students would be allowed to work part-time at IT firms to earn money for living and tuition while attending Japanese language schools.</p><p>A council comprising Japanese IT companies, Japanese language schools, and other entities is expected to be established as early as this summer. The ministry plans to set up a joint task force with the Indian government to discuss specific measures. It also plans to seek cooperation from Vietnam, which is keen to develop IT human resources.</p><p>According to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, 31,581 foreign workers were employed at IT companies in Japan as of October.</p><p>As part of its growth strategy, the government has set a goal of doubling the number of non-Japanese workers at domestic IT companies to 60,000 in 2020. However, domestic firms, such as software and game developers, tend to be cautious about hiring foreign workers who do not speak Japanese.</p><p>Although there has been a trend of Japanese companies employing Chinese workers in IT fields, the number of Indian IT workers at domestic firms has stagnated. Many Indian students have found employment at IT companies in the United States, taking advantage of their English ability.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-New-system-to-be-launched-to-fill-IT-skills-shortages-with-graduates-from-India-and-Vietnam-34747Mon, 20 Jul 2015 10:36:59 +0000India – Demand for senior professionals up but overall demand for staff dipshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Demand-for-senior-professionals-up-but-overall-demand-for-staff-dips-34748
<p>Demand for professionals with over 20 years’ experience jumped by 14% between May and June 2015, after remaining relatively stagnant since January 2015, according to the latest Recruitex survey from India job board <em>TimesJobs.com</em>.</p><p>Vivek Madhukar, COO of TimesJobs.com, commented: “We are seeing the start-up wave of entrepreneurial spirit gripping the country today. From the point of view of business sustenance and expansion, this youthful passion, exuberance, and motivation needs to be balanced with a strong focus on common sense, street smarts, and market realities.”</p><p>Demand for mid-level professionals increased by 3%, month-on-month, in June, while demand for entry and junior-level professionals grew by 2%.</p><p>Overall, hiring reported a decrease of 2% in June 2015, compared with May. According to the Recruitex Index, demand for staff has been slipping since March 2015.</p><p>The sharpest decrease in demand, by sector, was reported in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/IT-enabled Services (ITeS) sectors which reported a drop of 6% in June. The Consumer Durables and Fast-Moving-Consumer-Goods (FMCG) sector reported a decrease of 5%.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Demand-for-senior-professionals-up-but-overall-demand-for-staff-dips-34748Mon, 20 Jul 2015 10:37:46 +0000Vietnam – Manufacturing industry set to create jobshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Vietnam-Manufacturing-industry-set-to-create-jobs-34759
<p>The goods processing and manufacturing industry is expected to gain ground and expand its workforce through the rest of 2015, according to a labour market update by Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the country’s General Statistics Office, reports <em><a href="http://en.vietnamplus.vn/Home/Processing-manufacturing-industry-to-create-more-jobs/20157/68690.vnplus" target="_blank">en.vietnamplus.vn</a></em>.</p><p>Maintaining momentum from the first quarter, 86.4% of businesses in the industry said they intend to hire additional staff.&nbsp;</p><p>The highest demand for manpower is expected to be concentrated in sectors producing apparel, beverages, electronic and optical equipment, and machinery maintenance and assembly.&nbsp;</p><p>New employment opportunities are also expected to come mostly from foreign-funded enterprises.&nbsp;</p><p>The impact of the amended employment and education laws will accelerate the regional integration of Vietnam’s labour market. Meanwhile, as the ASEAN Economic Community is set to be established by the end of this year, bloc citizens trained in accounting, engineering, architecture, dentistry, transportation, nursing and tourism, will be able to travel and work across the region.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Vietnam-Manufacturing-industry-set-to-create-jobs-34759Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:12:44 +0000Brazil – Legislative changes expected to benefit the outsourcing sectorhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Brazil-Legislative-changes-expected-to-benefit-the-outsourcing-sector-34760
<p>Outsourcing service providers in Brazil claimed their first victory after more than 10 years campaigning following the approval, by Brazil’s House of Representatives in April 2015, of Bill 4.330/2004, which overturns existing legislation (Precedent 331) limiting the use of outsourcing to non-core business functions.</p><p>According to a nationwide survey of nearly 1,500 companies in the outsourcing sector, the law is expected to bring better protection for workers and greater legal certainty for companies. The survey was commissioned by Brazil’s Trade Union of Human Resources, Temporary Work, and Outsourcing (FENASERHTT) and the Trade Union of Outsourced and Temporary Employment Services for São Paolo (SINDEPRESTEM).</p><p>In Brazil temporary assignments are limited to three months (with one extension permitted for no longer than an additional three months). As a result many staffing firms supply complementary outsourcing services to clients alongside their temporary staffing services.</p><p>The vast majority (90%) of respondents expect the Bill to benefit the sector, with 64% expecting that it will also offer greater protection for workers.</p><p>Most companies (38%) don’t think that the Bill will impact the retention of workers in the sector; while 32% think it will positively impact retention, and 30% fear that it will be bad for business.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Brazil-Legislative-changes-expected-to-benefit-the-outsourcing-sector-34760Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:13:31 +0000New Zealand – Labour market testing trialled for low-skilled jobshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/New-Zealand-Labour-market-testing-trialled-for-low-skilled-jobs-34761
<p>Overseas workers looking to secure a low-skill job in New Zealand could find it a lot easier following a&nbsp;pilot&nbsp;programme&nbsp;testing&nbsp;a new streamlined labour market test process, reports <em><a href="http://www.expatforum.com/new-zealand/new-zealand-tries-out-faster-labour-market-testing-for-non-skilled-jobs.html" target="_blank">expatforum.com</a></em>.</p><p>Since the beginning of July, employers seeking to fill a low skilled vacancy from overseas in one particular area, Queenstown Lakes District, have been able to seek formal advice direct from the Work and Income department.</p><p>According to&nbsp;Social&nbsp;Development Minister Anne Tolley and&nbsp;Immigration&nbsp;Minister Michael Woodhouse this will speed up the process of lodging a migrant worker visa application.</p><p>Work and Income will then refer any suitable New Zealanders to the employer for consideration. Employers will also have access to an updated&nbsp;list&nbsp;of jobs where advice is not required, as Work and Income has no jobseekers available to fill the&nbsp;positions.</p><p>“As well as looking after the interest of New Zealanders this new process will provide more certainty for employers and migrants as they will know sooner if a work visa application is likely to succeed,” said Ms Tolley.</p><p>“New Zealanders will always be first in line for jobs, but we recognise that for certain roles which are hard to fill, employers want to bring in migrant workers and this new system provides a quicker and more effective solution for them,” she added.</p><p>Mr Woodhouse explained that the&nbsp;changes&nbsp;are being trialled in Queenstown because of the unique circumstances faced by Queenstown employers, particularly tourism operators, in a period of exceptionally strong&nbsp;growth.</p><p>“Officials will also continue to&nbsp;monitor&nbsp;how immigration policies are working for Queenstown employers, in the context of wider work under way in the tourism sector to&nbsp;address&nbsp;labour and skills needs in the long term.”</p><p>“The changes in Queenstown replace the temporary labour market test exemption which was in place during the exceptionally&nbsp;busy&nbsp;summer season and ended on 30 June,” Mr Woodhouse added.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/New-Zealand-Labour-market-testing-trialled-for-low-skilled-jobs-34761Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:14:35 +0000Australia – Glass ceiling slowly disappearing from the IT industryhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Glass-ceiling-slowly-disappearing-from-the-IT-industry-34762
<p>A newly published survey of Australia’s traditionally male-dominated IT industry suggests that the industry’s glass ceiling is slowly disappearing, according to recruitment firm Robert Half.</p><p>Although barriers persist to senior management roles, Australian businesses are now increasing the number of women they hire at a faster pace than those in other developed economies worldwide.</p><p>The survey found that 65% of Australian firms have hired more women in technology roles in the past five years, compared with an average of 44% across all eight nations surveyed: Australia, France, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.</p><p>Japan and Germany recorded the slowest growth in female hiring with 31% and 36%, respectively.</p><p>The survey also revealed that Australian medium sized firms are leading the way with 76% of those surveyed increasing their female headcount over the past five years.</p><p>According to Bansrij Shah, Division Manager of Technology at Robert Half, the survey results match the realities of Australia’s technology sector jobs market, which has seen significant change in recent years.&nbsp;</p><p>“The digital economy is transforming every sector, so if you couple your passion in sport, food, retail or any other area, and have the IT skills, you can now combine that with a career in technology. Technology is no longer a male dominated sector and new opportunities, particularly in the innovative, creative digital space, are increasingly seeing women enter this market.”</p><p>Ms Shah said that Robert Half is seeing an increased proportion of women being placed in project management; typically as project managers, project coordinators, project schedulers or business analysts.</p><p>She added that to continue growing the representation of women in IT roles, particularly in leadership positions, the industry needs to “foster this interest at schools and universities so that they develop the skills and passion for the sector at an early age”.&nbsp;</p><p>“We need to see more mentoring programs that enable the next generation of women to be inspired and to have the right level of guidance to navigate the new opportunities across the technology sector.”</p><p>“While there is still a disproportionate lack of female leaders in senior management roles across technology, this gap continues to close as women are increasingly building careers across the sector,” Ms Shah concluded.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Glass-ceiling-slowly-disappearing-from-the-IT-industry-34762Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:15:18 +0000Philippines – Department of Labour warns against hiring illegal foreign workershttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Philippines-Department-of-Labour-warns-against-hiring-illegal-foreign-workers-34774
<p>Amid reports of rising numbers of illegal foreign workers in the country, the Filipino Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) yesterday warned local commercial establishments against hiring foreign nationals without securing necessary employment permits, reports <em><a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/21/15/dole-warns-against-hiring-foreign-workers" target="_blank">abs-cbnnews.com</a></em>.</p><p>Labour Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said local employers hiring foreign workers without the necessary permit from DOLE face imprisonment and other penalties: “DOLE is strictly enforcing the revised rules for the issuance of alien employment permits (AEPs), for which our regional offices have direct responsibility.”</p><p>Under the Labour Code, Ms Baldoz explained, any foreign national seeking admission to the Philippines for employment purposes, and any domestic or foreign employer who desires to engage a foreign national for employment in the Philippines, are requested to obtain an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from DOLE.</p><p>“The AEP is a permit issued to a non-resident alien or foreign national seeking admission to the Philippines for work after it has been determined a competent and able Filipino citizen is unavailable or unwilling at the time of application to perform the services for which the alien is desired,” she explained.</p><p>She said an AEP is also required for foreign nationals who assume a new job position within their current organisations or those who transferred to a new position within related companies.</p><p>Based on DOLE guidelines, DOLE regional directors are authorised to conduct inspections to verify the legitimacy of the employment of a foreign national and a verification inspection of the establishment employing foreign nationals within 30 days after the AEP has been issued.</p><p>Ms Baldoz said foreign nationals found to be working in the Philippines without a valid AEP would be fined PHP 10,000 (USD 221) for every year of illegal work or fraction, while companies that illegally employed them would also be subject to a fine of PHP 10,000 for every year of illegal employment or fraction thereof.</p><p>The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) earlier reported a continuing growth in the number of illegal foreign workers in the country for the past years.</p><p>The majority of undocumented foreign workers are Chinese nationals; followed by Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Vietnamese nationals, according to the TUCP.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Philippines-Department-of-Labour-warns-against-hiring-illegal-foreign-workers-34774Wed, 22 Jul 2015 11:07:41 +0000India – Indian Staffing Federation partnering with government to improve youth employmenthttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Indian-Staffing-Federation-partnering-with-government-to-improve-youth-employment-34775
<p>The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) has been designated the&nbsp;premier partner&nbsp;of the soon to be launched National Career Portal, tasked with increasing youth employment in India’s formal jobs sector.</p><p>The initiative is being run by India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, under the National Career Service (NCS) project. The ISF has been supporting the initiative as a partner since its inception, providing structured inputs, flow decks, and jobs data.</p><p>Under this&nbsp;initiative, the Ministry will transform all the government-run employment exchanges and put them under a national web portal, which will act as a one-stop platform for both jobseekers and job providers.</p><p>In the first phase, the government plans to modernise and transform 100 of the 982 employment exchanges across India.</p><p>ISF members will be given direct and exclusive access to the portal.</p><p>Rituparna Chakraborty, President of the ISF, commented: “ISF is proud to be associated with this noble initiative and contribute towards creating and bringing formal jobs to the forefront through our members. The portal with abilities to transform the way India Inc. hires is likely to be the most sought after for both jobseekers and employers skill&nbsp;development,&nbsp;improved&nbsp;formal employability and productivity will together pave the way forward for India’s inclusive growth.”</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Indian-Staffing-Federation-partnering-with-government-to-improve-youth-employment-34775Wed, 22 Jul 2015 11:08:13 +0000Singapore – Higher salary requirement for foreign workers seeking family visashttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Higher-salary-requirement-for-foreign-workers-seeking-family-visas-34776
<p>Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MoM) is raising the minimum salary requirement for foreign workers applying for visas to bring their spouses, children, and parents into the country, reports <em><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/higher-salary-bar-for-foreigners-seeking-family-visas" target="_blank">straitstimes.com</a></em>.</p><p>From 1 September 2015, foreign workers will have to earn at least SGD 5,000 (USD 3,655) per month if they want to apply for Dependant’s Passes (DPs) for their spouse and children to join them in Singapore. This is up from SGD 4,000 (USD 2,924) at present.</p><p>Those who want to bring their parents on Long Term Visit Passes (LTVPs) face an even higher minimum salary of SGD 10,000 (USD 7,311), up from the current SGD 8,000 (USD 5,848).</p><p>The changes, which were updated on MOM's website in the last week, come after the ministry said employers looking to hire foreign professionals will <strong><a href="/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Firms-to-face-tougher-regulations-to-hire-foreign-workers-34631" target="_blank">face tougher rules from 1 October 2015</a></strong>.</p><p>A MoM spokesman said: "The Government updates the DP/LTVP qualifying salary from time to time, to ensure that sponsors will be able to upkeep their dependants. We continue to welcome highly skilled foreign professionals who wish to bring their dependants to stay with them."</p><p>The move will affect foreigners on (mid-level skilled) S Passes and (professional) Employment Passes (EPs). According to the MOM's website, there were 178,900 people on EPs and 170,100 on S Passes as of December last year.</p><p>Cai Bi Xia, General Secretary of the Huayuan Association, which helps Chinese nationals settle into Singapore, said the move signals that the Government wants to attract foreigners of a certain calibre. It will put pressure on firms to raise salaries to attract this group, which is also sought after by other countries.</p><p>"Companies need to recognise the higher salary requirement and raise pay accordingly to attract the talent they want," she said.</p><p>David Leong, Managing Director of recruitment firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting, noted that raising the minimum salary will ensure that foreigners can support their families here but he warned that the move may make Singapore less attractive to foreigners in the long run.</p><p>"When senior managers relocate to another country, they would want to bring their family. [The change] will make people who are moving to Singapore think twice about doing so. It discourages them from bringing their families and sends a signal to come alone, which may make other countries more attractive," Mr Leong stated.</p><p>Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said: "It is a necessary rationalisation as hiring one foreign professional can open the door to, say, four others in his or her family, which can impose a cost on society. By reviewing the benchmark, the door remains open but there is a more judicious management of the inflow."</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Higher-salary-requirement-for-foreign-workers-seeking-family-visas-34776Wed, 22 Jul 2015 11:09:47 +0000Japan – Men more pressured to work outside normal hours than womenhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Men-more-pressured-to-work-outside-normal-hours-than-women-34777
<p>Japanese men feel more pressured to work outside normal working hours than women, with the gender gap more pronounced in Japan than the global average, according to a survey from recruitment firm Randstad.</p><p>Across both genders, 39.5% of workers feel pressured to respond to work related called and emails when they are holiday. However, when broken down by gender, 43.3% of men feel pressured compared with 35.3% of women.</p><p>The global average for both genders sits at 37.7%; with 40.7% of male and 35% of female respondents agreeing that they feel unable to forget about work when they are on holiday.</p><p>When asked if their employer expect them to be available outside regular office hours (i.e. not on holiday) 53% of Japanese men agreed, compared with only 38.4% of women.</p><p>While the gender gap is more pronounced than the global average, Japanese men and women feel less pressure than other workers around the world; with 62.1% of men and 51.4% of women on average around the world pressured into being available for work outside normal working hours.</p><p>This could be explained, in some part, by the workplace culture in Japan, which expects employees to come in early, work long hours, and stay late.</p><p>Yumiko Kawanishi, Head of EAP Research Institute for Randstad Japan, commented: “In Japan, as women’s participation in society advances, support from companies, such as assistance to work while also raising children or caring for elderly family members, is becoming more common.”</p><p>“On the other hand, there is still an assumption that men work fulltime. It is said that it is difficult to even take a day off because of sickness, let alone practice short working hours due to family issues. As a matter of fact, there are many young male employees who cannot bear the stress and visit counsellors.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Japanese companies are called ‘men’s society’ and often managed in a top-down style. This culture seems to result in the circumstances described above. Organisations in which staff do not have good mental health can lapse into a vicious cycle of decreased productivity and unsuccessful results.”</p><p>“Companies need to try to understand their employees, create a culture that promotes them sharing their business and personal concerns, and seek ways to support them as a team. For companies to continue to grow, despite a decrease in workforce numbers, a culture that enables staff to show the best of their abilities, despite a decrease in workforce numbers, a culture that enables staff to show the best of their abilities on a sustainable basis is requires,” Ms Kawanishi concluded.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Men-more-pressured-to-work-outside-normal-hours-than-women-34777Wed, 22 Jul 2015 11:10:28 +0000Australia – Workplace drug testing on the rise for white-collar jobshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Workplace-drug-testing-on-the-rise-for-white-collar-jobs-34788
<p>Sales representatives driving company vehicles are at the frontline of the next wave of workplace drug testing, as the AUD 80 million (USD 59.2 million) industry accelerates its growth by about 20% each year, reports the <em><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-drug-testing-spreads-to-white-collar-workers-as-80m-industry-grows-20150720-gig71y.html" target="_blank">Sydney Morning Herald</a></em>.</p><p>Testing of mine site workers has been one of the mainstays of the drug testing industry along with the transport and logistics sectors;&nbsp;but industry experts are noticing increasing demand from the white-collar sector, with part of the impetus coming from companies pre-empting any problems. Problems that may have&nbsp;been uncovered by the rising incidence of random drug testing of drivers being carried out by police around Australia.</p><p>Two drug testing firms; Safe Work Laboratories and Frontline Diagnostics,&nbsp;both advised that work from the non-mining sectors is on the rise.</p><p>Michael White, Managing Director of Frontline Diagnostics, said that while the mining downturn had crimped demand it had been offset by other areas: "There's a big call for&nbsp;[staff drug testing], partly because of rising methamphetamine use in the community.”</p><p>He said the major community concerns over the drug more commonly known as "ice" had led more employers to implement workplace drug testing procedures, and that they were increasingly common as part of the pre-employment process.</p><p>Mr White said generally when the company undertook a broad-ranging workplace drug testing programme it found that 12% to 15% of employees returned positive samples of&nbsp;various forms of drugs.</p><p>He declined to divulge the specifics&nbsp;but said on one occasion Frontline Diagnostics had conducted swabs in the boardroom of a company and was surprised to find traces of a range of different substances.</p><p>Safe Work Laboratories National Marketing Director Andrew Liebie&nbsp;said there was a gradual shift toward more "grey-collar and "white-collar" industries, and the broader workplace drug testing market was growing at 15% to 20%.</p><p>He said companies with sales representatives on the road, in vehicles with corporate logos on the side, were getting on the front foot&nbsp;because of the risks associated with an employee being found with levels of drugs in their system in&nbsp;roadside drug testing.</p><p>But Australia still had a long way to go to catch up with the United States, where studies showed an estimated 70% of the working population had drug tests.</p><p>Mr Liebie estimated that about 15% of Australian employees were subject to workplace drug testing now, compared with 5% a decade ago.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Workplace-drug-testing-on-the-rise-for-white-collar-jobs-34788Thu, 23 Jul 2015 10:51:06 +0000UAE – Temporary staffing to grow by a third this summerhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/UAE-Temporary-staffing-to-grow-by-a-third-this-summer-34789
<p>Demand for temporary workers is again on the rise across the UAE, as a number of companies are trying to cope with increased workload caused by staff members going on leave for the summer, reports <em><a href="http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/employment/uae-firms-hiring-more-temporary-staff-1.1554472" target="_blank">gulfnews.com</a></em>.</p><p>Dulsco, a provider of temporary staffing to the region, said that demand for skilled talent is expected to increase by 30% this year compared to a year ago, providing further proof that the local labour market is still on an upswing even during the summer months.</p><p>Companies are looking to hire receptionists, secretaries, administrative staff, document controllers and promoters on a temporary basis. Businesses are also in need of additional skilled and unskilled manpower in the blue-collar segment.</p><p>The demand for temporary staff comes from all forms of businesses, from multinational companies, to small and medium enterprises, and semi-government organisations.</p><p>Prakash Parab, Director HR solutions at Dulsco, commented: “The demand for temporary staff has increased substantially over the years in the UAE. As the cost of hiring new employees in terms of time and money is far greater than hiring a temporary employee.”</p><p>Summer is the time of year when hundreds of working expatriates take their annual holidays, leaving a number of positions vacant.</p><p>What is more challenging for companies in the UAE; especially those in the retail, logistics, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), construction, and airlines industries, &nbsp;is that there are many events taking place during the summer season.</p><p>Businesses also have to deal with increasing competition, so the need to hire additional manpower is even more critical. In order to save recruitment costs, companies are increasingly turning to temporary recruitment firms to fill vacancies.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/UAE-Temporary-staffing-to-grow-by-a-third-this-summer-34789Thu, 23 Jul 2015 10:52:02 +0000India – IT sector hiring to rise this yearhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-IT-sector-hiring-to-rise-this-year-34790
<p>Hiring in India’s IT sector is set to rise by an estimated 6% in 2015, according to R Chandrashekhar, President of Nasscom, the association representing India’s IT and Business Process Management (BPM) sector, reports <em><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hiring-in-it-sector-to-grow-6-in-2015-nasscom-president-115072300396_1.html" target="_blank">business-standard.com</a></em>.</p><p>The IT industry currently employs around 3.5 million people across India.</p><p>According to Mr Chandrashekhar, as the global leader in the field of digital technology in terms of talent availability, it is important for companies in India to recognise that enterprises are run by people, not technology.</p><p>"How to manage the workforce in the midst of this sea of technology and gadgets is really significant. People are the real assets and ultimately it is the human resources that make the difference for a company," he said.</p><p>He added that with technology pervading every aspect of our life, HR would have to change too.&nbsp;The major challenge for HR is building the leadership for tomorrow; as well as dealing with employees who have over 15 years of experience and are facing a risk of redundancy.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-IT-sector-hiring-to-rise-this-year-34790Thu, 23 Jul 2015 10:52:53 +0000Singapore – Talent shortage prompting companies to rethink recruitment and retention strategieshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Talent-shortage-prompting-companies-to-rethink-recruitment-and-retention-strategies-34791
<p>There was pessimism among companies across Singapore during Q1 2015 that accounted for the unseasonal caution around hiring, as employers and candidates took stock of market conditions, according to boutique recruitment business Ambition.</p><p>However even with a challenging first quarter, the first half of 2015 has seen steady growth in the Singapore economy on the whole. As a result, the demand for talent increased.</p><p>This has placed more emphasis on the importance of employer branding, as well as attracting and retaining talent, which remain key strategic priorities and challenges facing most organisations in Southeast Asia.</p><p>In the last six months, there has been a trend of larger organisations assessing their Singapore operational structures, which has led to some streamlining of functions that are based in the country. This has had an impact on the more senior talent pool, as roles have either been offshored or consolidated, which has led to a deepening in supply of talent at this level in the market.</p><p>Unfortunately, this supply has not been met with sufficient demand as companies continue to adopt a passive approach when recruiting at these levels.</p><p>Whilst it has been quieter at the senior levels, high demand has continued at junior to mid-levels (or roles up to SGD 200,000 (USD 146,527) per annum) as companies compete for talent. The reality is that there has been a continued shortage of available talent across the board.</p><p>This places candidates in a favourable position as they have the opportunity to assess competing offers and companies before finalising their decisions. In these scenarios, the onus is on the potential employer to attract them. This often is not just about remuneration, but also career opportunity, investment in training and development, company culture and vision.</p><p>Employers need to be clear about these elements to attract great talent, and once they have they then need to live and breathe what they have communicated to retain employees. Given the continued challenge in finding available talent locally, we do see demand for foreign talent once these local channels have been exhausted although some form of regional Asia experience is generally desired. In addition, these candidates will have had a strong track record and proven experience in their respective field as there remains a great deal of rigour around the visa approval process.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Talent-shortage-prompting-companies-to-rethink-recruitment-and-retention-strategies-34791Thu, 23 Jul 2015 10:53:27 +0000Australia – Job prospects for graduates at lowest level since the 1980shttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Job-prospects-for-graduates-at-lowest-level-since-the-1980s-34803
<p>Job prospects for new graduates are the worst they have been since the 1980s, with only 68% of new bachelor graduates in full-time work within four months of finishing their course, down from more than 80% before the 2008 global financial crisis, reports <em><a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/grim-jobs-outlook-for-new-graduates/story-e6frgcjx-1227454542727" target="_blank">theaustralian.com.au</a></em>.</p><p>There are now growing concerns that poorer job prospects for graduates will become chronic and that even an economic boom is unlikely to lift jobs back to where they once were.</p><p>Nevertheless, the long-term benefits of a degree remain real, with the latest survey showing that three years after completing a degree 90% of graduates are in full-time work, according to the 2014 Graduate Careers Australia survey.</p><p>Melbourne University labour market economist Jeff Borland said the tougher conditions partly reflected a flat economy, but it was also likely a “structural” issue given the rising number of graduates after the government in 2010 began removing caps on the number of government funded places.</p><p>“If the economy recovers you&nbsp;would expect an improvement for graduates, but not a return to ­previous levels,” Professor ­Borland said.</p><p>Grattan Institute higher education expert Andrew Norton agreed: “This is serious. It is across most disciplines and there is no sign it is going to get better.”</p><p>The survey of 113,000 new graduates found almost 12% of those looking for full- time work had no work at all, while ­another 20% were in part-time or casual work.</p><p>In 2008, some 85% had landed full-time jobs within four months of completing degrees and only 5% had no work at all.</p><p>Starting full-time salaries are flat-lining at an average AUD 52,500 (USD 38,738).</p><p>Starting salaries for men were&nbsp;higher than for women at AUD 55,000 (USD 40,583) compared with AUD 52,000 (USD 38,369), but Graduate Careers Australia said most of this difference likely reflected the choice of discipline.</p><p>Dentistry graduates had the highest average starting salaries at AUD 75,000 (USD 55,340) followed by optometry, engineering, mathematics and medicine. The lowest starting salaries were in pharmacy, art, humanities, and veterinary ­science.</p><p>Employment results were strongest for medicine, nursing, dentistry, economics, and engineering, where commonly more than 75% of new graduates were in full-time work within four months, but not necessarily in their fields.</p><p>Fields with the poorest results were performing and visual arts, with only 45% in full-time work while only 48% of life science graduates had full-time work.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Job-prospects-for-graduates-at-lowest-level-since-the-1980s-34803Fri, 24 Jul 2015 11:17:55 +0000South Africa – “One size fits all” national minimum wage won’t workhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/South-Africa-One-size-fits-all-national-minimum-wage-won-t-work-34804
<p>The South African government has probably realised that a “one size fits all” approach to setting a national minimum wage won’t work across all sectors and differentiation is a necessity, according to Gerhard Papenfus, Chief Executive of the National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA), reports <em><a href="http://citizen.co.za/431007/minimum-wage-drive-needs-to-raise-its-aim/" target="_blank">citizen.co.za</a></em>.</p><p>As Mr Papenfus explained, the problem is that collective bargaining and sectoral determinations already, in effect, provide the necessary differentiation.&nbsp;</p><p>“It makes no sense to ‘reward’ or protect an unskilled and poorly educated workforce with inflexible wage arrangements and high wages, or rather wages not justified within a market over which no one has any control, or at least very limited control [especially within the global market context],” he said.</p><p>The result, he warned, will exacerbate unemployment.&nbsp;</p><p>“If you put into the mix a largely low-skilled workforce, poor education, and extremely rigid labour law arrangements, any fiddling with minimum wages […] will lead to increased unemployment. In a situation where almost half the population is unemployed, and youth unemployment is even higher, such a policy direction is short-sighted, even reckless,” Mr Papenfus stated.</p><p>Increasing job security without matching skills and productivity goes against the law of the labour market:</p><p>“Workers cannot have it both ways. That’s the law of the labour market. All labour markets.”</p><p>“Lasting, increased wealth, which includes improved wages, can only be the result of economic growth, which in turn will be the result of improved skills and education, improved ethics in the workplace by both the employer and the worker, the total eradication of a sense of entitlement and the acceptance of personal responsibility. There is no other formula,” Mr Papenfus concluded.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/South-Africa-One-size-fits-all-national-minimum-wage-won-t-work-34804Fri, 24 Jul 2015 11:19:01 +0000Australia – Top union official calls for temporary foreign workers to get the votehttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Top-union-official-calls-for-temporary-foreign-workers-to-get-the-vote-34805
<p>One of Australia’s most powerful union leaders has called on the government to give temporary foreign workers the right to vote in both federal and state elections, reports <em><a href="http://www.australiaforum.com/information/australia/top-union-official-calls-for-votes-for-foreign-workers-in-australia.html" target="_blank">australiaforum.com</a></em>.</p><p>Tony Sheldon, who is National Vice President of the Australian Labour Party and National Secretary of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), believes that people from overseas who pay tax should be able to vote.</p><p>They deserve the same rights as other Australians regardless of how long they intend to be in Australia, Mr Sheldon said, adding: “Only by giving migrant workers full democratic representation will their voices be heard, because politicians and the business elite will have to listen to their demands”.</p><p>He also believes that foreign workers often pay more into the system than Australian citizens. For example, they pay for health insurance and often for their children’s education in state schools.</p><p>Mr Sheldon said that he would like to see these kind of costs, especially education, taken care of by employers. “Often this cost is borne by the workers themselves,&nbsp;effectively&nbsp;amounting to an additional tax,” he pointed out.</p><p>“If employers want to bring migrant workers into Australia then they must be held responsible for ensuring they can share in the Australian way of life. This is a nation built on egalitarian values where workers are equal – this right must extend to all workers,” he added.</p><p>He also backs the idea of a tougher regime for employers, such as a licence or public register, that would create an extra layer of checks to ensure they abide by federal workplace laws.</p><p>The TWU also wants foreign workers to be given mandatory access to union representation upon arrival in Australia so that they know their legal rights and, if&nbsp;desired, how to negotiate improved wages and conditions.</p><p>“We need to get serious about protecting the rights of temporary foreign workers, because we should be fighting for this basic principle,” he said, adding that there should also be additional legal protections for overseas workers who lose their jobs in Australia.</p><p>Currently, temporary visa holders have 90 days to&nbsp;find&nbsp;another job if their employment ends and making them more vulnerable to exploitation.</p><p>“Only by protecting foreign workers do we protect everyone’s rights to a job with dignity. If we fail to do this our kids, our neighbours and our communities are doomed to have their lives also degraded by substandard work,” he concluded.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Top-union-official-calls-for-temporary-foreign-workers-to-get-the-vote-34805Fri, 24 Jul 2015 11:20:10 +0000Zimbabwe – Government to urgently amend Labour Acthttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Zimbabwe-Government-to-urgently-amend-Labour-Act-34806
<p>The Zimbabwean government yesterday announced that it will urgently amend the country’s Labour Act is an effort to prevent inconsistencies in the labour market, which has seen companies arbitrarily terminating employees as a result of a recent Supreme Court judgment, reports <em><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201507240105.html" target="_blank">allafrica.com</a></em>.</p><p>The judgment, issued last week, indicated that companies could terminate contracts of employment upon issuing three months’ notice, without having to offer an explanation or offer retrenchment opportunities.</p><p>Prisca Mupfumira, Public Service, Labour and Social Services Minister, told journalists that while the Supreme Court judges were "correctly and appropriately" guided by the law, companies should exercise maximum restraint in terminating workers' contracts.</p><p>"To this end, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has been tasked to coordinate the process which should result in the expeditious tabling in Parliament of an amendment Bill to the Labour Act.”</p><p>"Meanwhile, Government appeals to the employers to exercise maximum restraint in terminating contracts of employment on notice, pursuant to the Supreme Court ruling," she added.</p><p>This announcement came as more firms terminated employment using the same judgment.</p><p>Minister Mupfumira said that the government had looked into the labour laws and concluded that they need to be amended in the shortest possible time.</p><p>"It was satisfied that the [Supreme Court] bench was correctly and appropriately guided by the law as it stands, noting that the law falls short of a harmonious balance between the interests of the employer and those of the employee," she said.</p><p>Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, sitting with four other judges, last Friday unanimously agreed that the common law position placing employees and employers on an equal footing was still operational.</p><p>They were deciding a case in which two former Zuva Petroleum managers, Don Nyamande and Kingstone Donga, were challenging termination of their contracts under similar circumstances.</p><p>As a result of that common law position, employers have the same right to give notice and terminate employment, inasmuch as a worker can do the same.</p><p>The judgment empowers employers to fire workers without going through disciplinary hearings or seeking permission for formal retrenchment.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Kirsten Hastings)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Zimbabwe-Government-to-urgently-amend-Labour-Act-34806Fri, 24 Jul 2015 11:21:21 +0000Guam – Jobs Uphttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Guam-Jobs-Up-34817
<p>According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to last year, there are more jobs both in the government and private sector and the unemployment rate in Guam has dipped slightly.</p><p>The March 2015 preliminary statistics show an increase in total number of jobs by 1,320, or 2.1% from last year. According to the report, most employment gains were in tourism and medical related industries. There is also an increase in average hourly earnings: 3.1% for GovGuam jobs and 1.1% in the private sector.</p><p>The report indicates that the total number of persons unemployed in December 2014 was 5,760. The unemployment rate for December 2014 was 7.7%, a decline of 0.7% compared to last year's 8.4%.</p><p>The news comes after the recent announcement that a federal grant of nearly USD 2.8 million has been awarded to the Guam Department of Labor to create more than 200 temporary jobs on island.</p><p>The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the National Emergency Grant to Guam in the wake of Typhoon Dolphin, so those seeking employment can help with clean up and recovery effort.</p><p>“The grant funds will be used primarily, to provide temporary employment on projects to assist with the clean up, demolition, repair, renovation, and reconstruction of destroyed public structures, facilities, land, and vegetation within the affected communities,” the governor’s office said.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Guam-Jobs-Up-34817Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:04:29 +0000Israel – Fees blamed for decline in Filipino nurseshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Israel-Fees-blamed-for-decline-in-Filipino-nurses-34818
<p>Philippine and Israel officials are pushing for the early approval of a bilateral labour agreement that will benefit approximately 20,000 Filipino caregivers in the Middle Eastern country.</p><p>&nbsp;A statement from the Philippine Embassy in Israel said Ambassador Nathaniel G. Imperial met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Silvan Shalom last week to discuss the possible agreement.</p><p>The Ambassador noted the decline in the number of Filipino workers in Israel, adding that one possible reason could be the exorbitant "mediation fees" being charged by private recruitment agencies for Filipino caregivers coming to work in Israel. The Deputy Prime Minister agreed that this practice is unfair for the workers.</p><p>The two officials also agreed that this issue could be addressed through a Bilateral Labour Agreement (BLA), which both the Philippine and Israeli sides are keen to sign as soon as possible.</p><p>"Implementation of Israel's BLAs with other countries has led to a significant reduction in the recruitment fees being charged to foreign workers in Israel," the embassy said.</p><p>It added that Shalom and Imperial expressed support for the early resumption of negotiations on a BLA between the Philippines and Israel to boost the competitiveness of Filipino caregivers in Israel.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Israel-Fees-blamed-for-decline-in-Filipino-nurses-34818Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:06:28 +0000Japan – Help still wantedhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Help-still-wanted-34819
<p>The founder and chief executive of one of Japan's largest job-search websites, DIP Corp., is more sanguine about the nation's employment picture than its difficult environment for start-ups according to an interview with him in the Forbes Asia magazine.</p><p>"Japan makes salarymen, not entrepreneurs," says Hideki Tomita. Tomita, who never intended to be a "salaryman," runs a company that had USD 180 million in revenue in the fiscal year through February and saw its profit jump at a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 27% over the past decade.</p><p>The company's main site, Baitoru.com, is focused on part-time work and accounts for three-quarterss of its revenue. It's the most popular part-time job portal in Japan's major urban regions, according to DIP, based on brand recognition, site visits and actual job applications processed.</p><p>Tomita wants baitoru.com, the part-time jobs site, to surpass industry giant Recruit Holdings' Townwork in actual sales as well as maintain its lead in other measures according to the article. He estimates &nbsp;that would entail tripling revenue by 2020..</p><p>DIP is expanding its office network in Japan and seeking greater brand recognition through advertisements using a famous actress, Aya Ueto, and the &nbsp;all-girl band AKB48. It hired 300 new graduates this year, bringing its total regular payroll to over 1,300.</p><p>Tomita spent almost a year trying to woo Silicon Valley venture capitalists but was rebuffed because his business was overseas.</p><p>Even with more hospitable conditions for new enterprises, the attitude toward failure in Japan lingers. "Greater recognition is needed of people taking challenges--of course, challenging also equals failure at times," Tomita says. "In Japan if you fail at a business once, you're not called a 'loser,' but challenging again is pretty difficult. You're said 'not to have the necessary ability'--or [told] that 'it's impossible.' You're not given credit for the experience of failing.</p><p>"If you haven't even stood up on your own, you shouldn't criticize those who have taken a challenge and fallen."</p><p>To read the full article follow this link</p><p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jsimms/2015/07/22/as-the-part-time-market-booms-japans-largest-job-search-website-excels/" >http://www.forbes.com/sites/jsimms/2015/07/22/as-the-part-time-market-booms-japans-largest-job-search-website-excels/</a></p><p>DIP does not yet feature in our list of the largest job boards globally which members can see here</p><p><a href="http://www.staffingindustry.com/site_member/Research-Publications/Research-Topics/North-America/2015-Job-Boards" >http://www.staffingindustry.com/site_member/Research-Publications/Research-Topics/North-America/2015-Job-Boards</a></p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Help-still-wanted-34819Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:07:53 +0000World - Nakama Group sees revenue up +24%http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-Nakama-Group-sees-revenue-up-24-34824
<p>Nakama Group (AIM: NAK) the AIM-quoted recruitment consultancy working across the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia that provides staff for the Web, Interactive, Digital Media sectors, IT and Business Change has provided the following Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2015.</p><p>&nbsp;Financial results include group revenue increased by 24%&nbsp; to GBP 21.7 million from GBP&nbsp; 17.5 million in 2014. Profit before tax increased substantially to £297,000 (2014: loss £121,000). Net fee income ("NFI") improved by 22%&nbsp; to £5.3 million (2014: £4.4 million) and the NFI percentage remained stable at 25%&nbsp; (2014: 25% ). Revenue across the APAC region increased by 18%&nbsp; to £6.3 million (2014: £5.3 million) driven by the continuing shortage of skilled talent within specialised markets. On a constant currency basis, the increase would have been 28%. Revenue across the UK increased by 27%&nbsp; to £15.5 million (2014: £12.2 million) due to an increase in contractors on site.</p><p>Ken Ford, Chairman of Nakama commented: "The Group has delivered another encouraging trading performance, in line with expectations and is now generating encouraging momentum.&nbsp; I look forward to continued progress as we further establish and build our international footprint and brand."</p><p>He also provided the following outlook: “Trading in the first quarter is in line with our expectations although not without the normal recruitment challenges we face in terms of candidates, given the current candidate driven market. The Board looks to 2016 as a year in which the Group will continue to benefit from new staff members delivering an excellent service alongside increasing client demand”.</p><p>Operationally the group has announced a new London office with increased space for growth. Sales consultants increased to 67 at year end &nbsp;The Group announced the appointment of Group head of people and culture alongside the initiation of a global internal learning and development training programme to better streamline and unify Nakama working procedures and HR requirements across the breadth of their offices.</p><p>Ford commented: "During the year we have strengthened our management team throughout the Group with strategic hires and internal promotions to ensure all offices are being managed by people who lead by example and are driven by aligning themselves to providing the quality of service that we offer and believe in. We continue to look to further recruit strong and driven individuals to meet our client and candidate needs.</p><p>"We are currently upgrading our website and on-line marketing and technology infrastructure so as to improve the Group's internal and external communications capabilities and to further grow new business traffic to all our offices.</p><p>"We have identified other geographies where we believe there is strong client demand for Nakama's services and we are currently in the process of opening new offices, which we will update on in the coming months.</p><p>As of last trade, Nakama Group PLC traded at £4.55, 65.45% above the 52 week low of 2.75 set on the 29<sup>th</sup> August, 2014.&nbsp; This means the company is valued at £5.33 million.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-Nakama-Group-sees-revenue-up-24-34824Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:26:17 +0000India - Staff your staffing bodyhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Staff-your-staffing-body-34836
<p>Gujarat High Court on Monday pulled up Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) and the State government for working with an understaffed recruitment body according to the <em>Times of India</em> . The court headed by Justice M R Shah asked the authorities to first equip GPSC with enough staff so that the commission could work efficiently to recruit staff for other government departments.</p><p>&nbsp;The court directions came during the hearing of an appeal for the recruitment of teachers in technical institutes across the State. The High Court has asked GPSC to come up with a concrete plan for the recruitment of teachers for engineering, pharmacy and polytechnic colleges, which are run mainly with help of faculty members appointed either on an ad hoc basis or on contract.</p><p>According to a recent survey report of the Chandigarh Labour Bureau, Gujarat has the lowest unemployment rate of 1% against the national average of 3.8%.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Staff-your-staffing-body-34836Tue, 28 Jul 2015 11:31:09 +0000Vietnam - Employers give skilled graduates priority over cheap graduateshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Vietnam-Employers-give-skilled-graduates-priority-over-cheap-graduates-34837
<p>Employers are increasingly looking at working skills and job-hopping probability rather than “competitive salary requirements” when hiring new graduates, according to a survey by Jobstreet.com reported in <em>HR in Asia</em>.</p><p>&nbsp;The market has both demand and supply for new young graduates according to Nguyen Xuan Trinh, Marketing Director for Jobstreet Vietnam. Q3 2015 has begun with thriving signs in the economy with many more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects. The country has 17,499 FDI projects and 448,148 operating companies. While the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training believes, 425,000 people would graduate during the 2014-15 academic year.</p><p>The Jobstreet survey showed that 65% of the companies had a high demand for recruitment in the second half of this year, especially in trading, information technology, and engineering. At least 10% of recruitment demand is for new graduates. The fields with the highest demand for new graduates are information technology, engineering and customer care.</p><p>The biggest problems of the workforce were bad skills and inexperience, especially for new graduates, the survey showed. At least 50% of the new graduates have jobs not related to their main study at university; 17% could not find a relevant job, and 45% said that they had taken a temporary job while waiting for a relevant one.</p><p>Though 54% of new graduates said they have no problems with their jobs being unrelated to their main study, 46% said they had to spend a lot of time to learn new skills and improve their knowledge of the job.</p><p>Enhancing the quality of the young workforce is not only the task of the education sector but also the recruitment sector, Angie SW Phang, general director of Jobstreet Vietnam, said. One of the biggest challenges is bringing relevant and appropriate jobs to the workforce, she added.</p><p>According to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam has a population of 90.5 million. At least 52.34 million people out of 69.2 million of working age have jobs. However, 178,000 people with bachelor’s or master’s degrees are unemployed.</p><p>Compared with other countries in the region, the salary range Vietnamese employers offer to new graduates is VND 2 million – VND 5 million (USD 90 – USD 226) a month, accounting for one-seventh of the salary for new graduates in Malaysia (VND 14.3 - VND16 million or USD 647 – USD 724). Vietnam ranks third in the region based on the rate of opportunity for new graduates, after Indonesia and Singapore.</p><p>Recruiters in Singapore and Malaysia care the most about salary demand, while Vietnam enterprises put working skills at the top, as 84% care about workforce quality and only 14% about salary costs. Vietnamese enterprises said that new graduates not only lack experience but also require time to train skills, which causes enterprises to seek experienced candidates. Other employers think new graduates may be unfaithful, and job hop.</p><p>Surveys conducted by Jobstreet in the region showed that 26-29% of employees were “faithful” to the first job. The rate was 12% in Singapore. When asked why they did not want to hire new graduates, 67% of enterprises in Vietnam blamed anxiety about ability and 33% blamed the high rate of job hopping. Malaysians cited bad attitudes, communication skills, and high salary requirements as risks of hiring new graduates.</p><p>In the region, Vietnam ranked fourth out of five countries on English language skills. Only 5% of Vietnamese new graduates were confident about their English, and 27% said they were weak in overall English skills. “Poor English skills are now a big disadvantage of the Vietnamese workforce, causing them to lose competitiveness in the global market,” Phang said.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Vietnam-Employers-give-skilled-graduates-priority-over-cheap-graduates-34837Tue, 28 Jul 2015 11:32:59 +0000India - Teamlease Chairman explains how to improve job creation http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Teamlease-Chairman-explains-how-to-improve-job-creation-34838
<p>Manish Sabharwal, Chairman of Teamlease Services and a member of the NITI Aayog Committee on Entrepreneurship and Skills has been interviewed by <em>The Times of India</em>. Asked how he would kick-start job creation in India. Mr Sabharwal pointed to six key issues:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Goods and Service Tax (GST),</li>
<li>Make in India &nbsp;(a major national program designed to transform India into a global manufacturing hub),</li>
<li>The ease-of-doing business,</li>
<li>Digital India (a Government initiative to integrate public sector departments and the people of India),</li>
<li>Labour reform, and</li>
<li>Co-operative federalism.</li>
</ul>
<p>Sabharwal suggests the last one may be the most important; the 29 Chief Minsters [of the country states] matter more for job creation than one Prime Minster because labour markets are local. “I believe using Section 254 (2) of the Constitution (the provision used by Rajasthan to amend labour laws that allows state legislatures to amend central acts) is a huge innovation given the flawed political narrative since Independence that strong states will lead to a weak nation”.</p><p>“State chief ministers often have clearer line of sight for problems and recognize the complex reality that the government has an execution deficit, the private sector has a trust deficit and NGOs have a scale deficit. Plus, state governments control all delivery systems and plumbing changes are often easier. Gujarat was early to recognize that the massification of higher education requires the vocationalization of higher education; we set up India's first vocational university as a public private partnership with the government of Gujarat a few year ago (we have now have more than 8000 students across various degree and non-degree programmes in physical, apprentice and distance learning formats). Rajasthan was the first to converge all skill programmes into a single mission and, of course, the first to recognize that labour law reform is a job creation agenda”.</p><p>To read the full interview, click <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/all-that-matters/In-2015-top-20-ITI-grads-will-earn-more-than-bottom-20-engineers-Manish-Sabharwal/articleshow/48219506.cms" target="_blank">here</a></p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Teamlease-Chairman-explains-how-to-improve-job-creation-34838Tue, 28 Jul 2015 11:36:21 +0000Uruguay - Randstad and Adecco seek to expand their Professionals’ businesseshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Uruguay-Randstad-and-Adecco-seek-to-expand-their-Professionals-businesses-34839
<p>Adecco and Randstad aim to develop, strengthen and expand their search and selection processes for qualified candidates, particularly for management and executive positions in Uruguay.</p><p>Adecco, which has operated in Uruguay since 1997, expects to increase its market positioning and invest in independent infrastructure to their traditional services offices. In addition to hiring a larger number of specialized consultants. The Swiss company has already moved its headhunter operations to the World Trade Center offices in Montevideo, to follow the strategy of creating independent offices from its traditional business. The company has office, industrial, “new technologies” and professional arms to its business in the country.</p><p>Randstad’s goal for this year is to develop its Professionals unit in Uruguay. If they succeed, they may make this business unit independent from their traditional services. They are also looking to increase their market position. In our list of the Largest Private Employment Agencies in Uruguay based on 2014 revenue, they are currently ranked 6<sup>th</sup>despite only operating in the country since 2013. Adecco are ranked number two behind ManpowerGroup.</p><p>The Uruguayan market is small but has attractive profit margins. Uruguay is the only South American country that has ratified ILO’s Convention 181 on private employment agencies. However, the ratification has not yet been followed through by way of regulation yet.</p><p>Uruguay is also an ideal market to develop shared services centres on a regional level. It is a predictable market, with legal certainty and good indicators with regards to economic freedom and ease of doing business.</p><p>Members may read more in our report, Largest Private Employment Agencies in Uruguay, which they can access here: <a href="http://www.staffingindustry.com/row_member/Research-Publications/Research-Topics/Asia-Pacific-Latin-America-Middle-East-Africa/Largest-Private-Employment-Agencies-in-Uruguay-2014" >http://www.staffingindustry.com/row_member/Research-Publications/Research-Topics/Asia-Pacific-Latin-America-Middle-East-Africa/Largest-Private-Employment-Agencies-in-Uruguay-2014</a></p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Adam Pode)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Uruguay-Randstad-and-Adecco-seek-to-expand-their-Professionals-businesses-34839Tue, 28 Jul 2015 11:39:12 +0000Hong Kong - Older workers in Hong Kong prefer flexible working hourshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Hong-Kong-Older-workers-in-Hong-Kong-prefer-flexible-working-hours-34847
<p>If bosses in Hong Kong want to retain members of their older workforce, they should consider offering them&nbsp;flexible working hours, according to <em>HumaResourcesonline.com</em>.</p><p>Research by Regus revealed that&nbsp;86% of respondents in Hong Kong&nbsp;see flexible working as a critical factor in keeping older, experienced workers in the economy, higher than the global average of 84%.</p><p>The research surveyed more than 44,000 senior business people around the world, including 365 respondents from Hong Kong.</p><p>Pushing back the retirement age is a common practice to allow older workers to remain in employment and to ensure productivity is maintained.</p><p>In 2014, the government extended the retirement age of newly hired civil servants from 60 to 65 to tackle the problem of an ageing population and a shrinking workforce.</p><p>According to&nbsp;predictions from the government,&nbsp;one in five Hong Kong people will be aged 65 or above by 2023, keeping elderly in the workforce has never been more crucial but the inflexible working hours and a long commute of Hong Kong workplaces are very off-putting to older workers.</p><p>“Older workers often have caring responsibilities, potential health problems, and a desire to spend more time with their partner or family or to take up a new hobby or skill. Flexible working therefore is an ideal solution for those who want to remain in the workforce past traditional retirement age, but maintaining control of their schedule and reducing lengthy commutes to and from work,” said&nbsp;Michael Ormiston, Country Manager, Regus Hong Kong.</p><p>Flexible working gives professionals greater choice over when and where they work, allowing them to better manage their&nbsp;work-life balance.</p><p>“Flexible working can also provide older workers with a ‘bridge’ into retirement. Reports show that often the complete loss of professional work can leave retired workers feeling depressed and unmotivated, even to the point of affecting mental health. Flexible working can help older workers delay retirement without giving up too much of their hard-earned freedom.” said&nbsp;Ormiston.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Hong-Kong-Older-workers-in-Hong-Kong-prefer-flexible-working-hours-34847Wed, 29 Jul 2015 11:15:07 +0000Malaysia – Jobstreet survey predicts hiring growthhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Malaysia-Jobstreet-survey-predicts-hiring-growth-34848
<p>Employers are expected to hire more in the third-quarter of this year on the back of expanding their operations and filling in vacant positions, a survey by JobStreet.com revealed recently.</p><p>In the survey by the job board, conducted on 313 employers across various industries, JobStreet noted 35% of the employers gearing to hire are doing so amid their companies’ expansion plans, while the remaining 65% intend to fill vacant positions.</p><p>“Among the employers surveyed, 32% said they would be hiring more, an increase of 7% compared to the 2Q,” JobStreet revealed in a statement yesterday.</p><p>This development comes against expectations of an economic slowdown on the back of the post-Goods and Services Tax climate, leading to depressed consumer and investor sentiment.</p><p>The national unemployment rate hovers at 3% as of April 2015, an improvement from 3.2% in the month prior, according to the Department of Statistics.</p><p>JobStreet stated 41% of employers expect to maintain their hiring rate, “signifying some slight improvement compared to 34%” in the 2Q of 2015.</p><p>“In addition, the number of employers who will be hiring less has also decreased by 14%, a drop from 41% to 27% on a quarter-on-quarter comparison,” it stated.</p><p>Meanwhile, JobStreet country manager Chook Yuh Yng said sales and marketing takes the lead in the context of job growth, with over 5,979 job postings. She said the job specialisation is a particularly competitive one with a high turnover rate, especially among junior and entry level employees. “Hence, hiring levels remain optimistic as there is a large number of candidates actively competing and searching for new roles and a continuous need to fill vacant positions.”</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Malaysia-Jobstreet-survey-predicts-hiring-growth-34848Wed, 29 Jul 2015 11:16:00 +0000China – Young entrepreneurs boost e-commerce jobs growthhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/China-Young-entrepreneurs-boost-e-commerce-jobs-growth-34849
<p>Over 10 million jobs have been created in 2014 by online shops in China, with over half of them run by enterprising college students, according to the <em>Financial Express</em>.</p><p>Nearly 60% of online shops operated by individuals rather than enterprises are run by either college students or college graduates, the People’s Daily reported today citing a report by the China Association of Employment Promotion (CAEP).</p><p>Specifically, 22.9% are run by college students or graduates with employees, while 36.8% are run by students or graduates without staff.</p><p>On aggregate, by the end of 2014, China’s online shops had created 10 million jobs, with 6.18 million run by college students or graduates, the newspaper cited the CAEP report as saying.</p><p>The Chinese government has been encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly targeting college students.</p><p>On the other hand, the large number of graduates each year strains the employment market in the world’s second largest economy.</p><p>The number of college graduates that registered start-up businesses with industry and commerce authorities in 2014 reached nearly 480,000, up 33% from the previous year.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/China-Young-entrepreneurs-boost-e-commerce-jobs-growth-34849Wed, 29 Jul 2015 11:16:41 +0000World – Heidrick http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-Heidrick-Struggles-H1-2015-results-in-Europe-disappointing-34850
<p>Chicago-based international executive recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles (HSII: NSQD) yesterday reported revenue for the second quarter ending 30 June 2015 of USD 133 million, a decrease of 2.3% compared with USD 136.1 million during the same period last year.&nbsp;</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="592"><tr class="bglight"><td width="129" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> <strong>Q2 2015</strong>
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> <strong>Q2 2014</strong>
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="129" valign="top"> Revenue
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 133 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 136.1 million
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> -2.3%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="129" valign="top"> Operating Income
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 9.2 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 12.5 million
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> -26.4%
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="129" valign="top"> Net income
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 5 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 3.8 million
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> +3.2%
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>The company advised that exchange rate fluctuations negatively impacted results by USD 6.9 million, or approximately 5%.</p><p>Furthermore, general and administrative expenses increased by 5.5%, or USD 1.7 million, impacting the company’s second quarter operating income. As a percentage of net revenue, general and administrative expenses were 24.9% in Q2 2015 compared with 23.1% in Q2 2014.</p><p>Tracy R. Wolstencroft, President and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, commented: "On a constant currency basis, net revenue in the Americas grew 9% and in Asia Pacific grew almost 7%. Results from Europe were disappointing, with a decline in revenue that was doubled by the negative impact of currency fluctuations.&nbsp; Improving our business in Europe is a high management priority."&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>For the six months ended 30 June 2015, the company reported revenue of USD 248.2 million, an increase of +0.4% compared with USD 247.2 million during the same period last year.&nbsp;</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="592"><tr class="bglight"><td width="129" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> <strong>H1 2015</strong>
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> <strong>H1 2014</strong>
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="129" valign="top"> Revenue
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 248.2 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 247.2 million
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> +0.4%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="129" valign="top"> Operating Income
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 15.8 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 13.3 million
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> -18.7%
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="129" valign="top"> Net income
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 8.4 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 3 million
</td><td width="73" valign="top"> +180%
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Heidrick & Struggles operates two businesses: Executive Search & Leadership Consulting (ESLC) and Culture Shaping, which works with businesses to change the behaviour of individuals and teams.&nbsp;</p><p>In the first six months of 2015 Executive Search and Leadership Consulting net revenue was $231.7 million, essentially unchanged from $231.3 million in the first six months of 2014. Exchange rate fluctuations negatively impacted results by $11.6 million, or 5%. Revenue growth in the Americas of 9.6% (approximately +11% on a constant currency basis) and in Asia Pacific of 4.0% (approximately +11% on a constant currency basis) was mostly offset by a decline in Europe of 23.8% (approximately -12% on a constant currency basis). From a global practices perspective, growth in the Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Industrial practices was mostly offset by declines in the other practices.</p><p>In the first six months of 2015 Net revenue from Culture Shaping services increased by 3.9% to $16.5 million, compared with $15.9 million in the same period in 2014.&nbsp; Exchange rate fluctuations negatively impacted net revenue by $0.2 million, or about 1%.</p><p>Looking forward to the third quarter, Heidrick & Struggles expects to achieve net revenue of between USD 130 million and USD 140 million. The forecast is based on the average currency rates in June 2015 and reflects, among other things, management’s assumptions for the anticipated volume on new Executive Search confirmation, Leadership Consulting assignment, and Culture Shaping services.</p><p>Mr Wolstencroft added: “We continue to grow and improve the talent base within our firm. We are investing capital to fill targeted industry practice and geographic gaps in order to provide increasing value to our clients as a trusted leadership advisory firm."</p><p>In trading yesterday, the company’s share price closed down 4.9% at USD 22.51, an increase of 25.3% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of USD 433.4 million.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (David Papapostolou)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-Heidrick-Struggles-H1-2015-results-in-Europe-disappointing-34850Wed, 29 Jul 2015 11:19:54 +0000Singapore – Unemployment rate increases in Q2http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Unemployment-rate-increases-in-Q2-34864
<p>Singapore's unemployment rate edged up slightly to 2% in the second quarter after trending downwards for the past four quarters, the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) announced today.</p><p>Preliminary estimates showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up from 1.8% in March to 2.0% in June. Among residents, unemployment rose to 2.8% while for citizens, unemployment rose to 2.9%, similar to the situation a year ago.</p><p>Overall employment grew by 15,700 in the second quarter, supported by increases in construction and services. However, taken as a whole, employment growth in the first half of this year has moderated compared to a year ago, MoM said.</p><p>There were 3,633,500 employed persons in June 2015, while 3,100 workers laid off compared with 3,500 in the previous quarter, the ministry said.</p><p>Layoffs declined for the second consecutive quarter. Some 3,100 workers were laid off, down from 3,500 in the preceding quarter.&nbsp;</p><p>The Employment Situation, Second Quarter 2015 report is available to view <a href="http://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/Employment-Situation-Second-Quarter-2015.aspx%20" target="_blank">here</a></p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Unemployment-rate-increases-in-Q2-34864Thu, 30 Jul 2015 10:50:42 +0000UAE – Workers jobs under threat as recruitment system faces glitcheshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/UAE-Workers-jobs-under-threat-as-recruitment-system-faces-glitches-34865
<p>The e-Migrate system has backfired with glitches resulting in a major crisis in the recruitment of blue-collar Indian workers to the UAE, according to the <a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/general/indian-workers-jobs-at-stake-as-recruitment-system-faces-glitches" target="_blank"><em>Khaleej Times</em>.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>The system, developed by Tata Consultancy Services, was introduced in the UAE last month to ensure transparency and to end the exploitation of workers. Registering through the website of the new system (www.emigrate.gov.in) and getting an approval from the Indian missions are now mandatory for recruiting workers requiring emigration clearance from India.</p><p>Of the approximately two million Indians working in the UAE, which forms the largest workforce based on nationality, around 45% require the emigration clearance. About 3,000 such workers are recruited to the UAE every month. However, several employers based in the UAE have found it difficult to recruit them through the new system.</p><p>Delays in the process, however, have led to the expiry of employment visas issued to several workers, which one official estimated at close to 1,000. Sources aware of the issues told Khaleej Times that the ambitious project of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has fallen flat due to the glitches in the software.</p><p>A source told the Khaleej Times that the new system was introduced too soon. The source commented that, "the Indian government has implemented it without any trial. Neither did they stick to the phase-wise implementation announced here. There are lots of levels of approvals and the software doesn't work properly."</p><p>Frustrated employers and company representatives have been venting their anger at officials at the Indian Consulate in Dubai and its outsourced service agency IVS Global.</p><p>K. Thulaseedharan, who runs a tyre shop and an automobile spare parts shop, said four visas issued to get Indian workers for his shops have expired due to this issue.</p><p>"The immigration department here will not reissue the visas. Small companies like ours are in big trouble because of this. We are losing money spent on visas and are unable to finish our works," he said.</p><p>While employers are protesting in the UAE, job seekers are concerned in India as work visas are delayed. The Indian Ambassador to the UAE, T.P. Seetharam, said the Indian missions were aware of the issues. "These are teething problems and we have already written to Delhi listing out the issues faced by the companies here. We hope they will be solved soon," he said.</p><p>Another official from the consulate said letters had been sent to ministries of Overseas Indian Affairs, External Affairs and also the Prime Minister's Office.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/UAE-Workers-jobs-under-threat-as-recruitment-system-faces-glitches-34865Thu, 30 Jul 2015 10:54:56 +0000Australia – Report highlights pay gap for womenhttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Report-highlights-pay-gap-for-women-34866
<p>More Australian women are working than ever before, but they continue to lag behind men in terms of pay, according to an ANZ white paper.</p><p>The ANZ Women's Report, ‘Barriers to Achieving Gender Equity’, states that the income disparity begins early in careers and the gender pay differences are deeply embedded in the system.</p><p>The paper found women's workforce participation had risen by more than 25% over the past three decades, but full-time female workers were paid 18.8$ — or AUD 295 per week (USD 215) — less than men. It is estimated that 90% of Australian women will retire with inadequate savings.</p><p>The head of ANZ's global wealth division, Joyce Phillips, said the difference was significant.</p><p>"This is AUD 15,000 (USD 11,000) a year, and over the entire career of these women, the gap extends to around $700,000 (USD 510,000) and that's the average price of an Australian home, so it's a significant gap," Ms Phillips said.</p><p>The paper said a lack of flexibility when taking time out to care for family members was one reason for the gap. According to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick: "Many women will live in poverty in retirement ... because they've taken time to care ... so what we've started doing is to reframe this issue, and to start to ask 'is poverty to be a reward for a lifetime spent caring’?'"</p><p>According to the report, women accounted for just 20.4% of all ASX 200 board members and were under-represented in Federal Parliament, accounting for less than a third of parliamentarians across all states, territories and the nation overall.</p><p>ANZ Global Wealth chief executive Joyce Phillips called for government and the business sector to remove the inequalities that exist for women.</p><p>"It is critical that our business, community and government leaders start to think differently, innovate and agitate for change so that we shift the status quo and address the inequities that continue to hold many women back," she said.</p><p>The report is avialable to download <a href="http://www.women.anz.com/the-conversation/anz-womens-report" target="_blank">here</a></p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Australia-Report-highlights-pay-gap-for-women-34866Thu, 30 Jul 2015 10:58:01 +0000World – Robert Walters reports revenue growth across all regionshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-Robert-Walters-reports-revenue-growth-across-all-regions-34867
<p>International recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA: LSE) reported revenue of £377.6 million for the six months ending 30 June 2015, an increase of +25% in constant currency compared with £310.0 million last year.</p><p>Revenue and Gross Profit during H1 2015 was as follows:</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="107" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="107" valign="top"> <strong>H1 2015</strong>
</td><td width="107" valign="top"> <strong>H1 2014</strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> <strong>% Change </strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> <strong>Change (CC)</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="107" valign="top"> Revenue
</td><td width="107" valign="top"> £377.6 million
</td><td width="107" valign="top"> £310.0 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +22%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +25%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="107" valign="top"> Gross Profit
</td><td width="107" valign="top"> £113.9 million
</td><td width="107" valign="top"> £101.9 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +12%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +15%
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Robert Walters’ eponymous Chief Executive commented: "The Group has produced a strong first half performance delivering a substantial 74% increase in profit before taxation despite foreign exchange headwinds. All of the Group's regions performed well with both client and candidate confidence improving across most of our markets. Particularly encouraging is the impressive growth we are seeing from our newer businesses in emerging markets in Asia and further signs of a recovery in financial services.</p><p>"The Group's excellent trading performance, underpinned by our ongoing focus on consultant productivity has enabled us to continue to deliver strong operational gearing during the first half. Current trading is in line with our expectations and the Group remains confident of its outlook for the full year.</p><p>According to the company’s financial statement: “All of the Group's regions performed well with both client and candidate confidence growing across most of our markets. Particularly encouraging is the impressive growth we are seeing from our newer businesses in emerging markets in Asia and ongoing signs of a recovery in financial services.”</p><p>“The Group's excellent trading performance, underpinned by our ongoing focus on consultant productivity has enabled us to continue to deliver strong operational gearing. In parallel, we have also continued to invest for the future, growing front office staff numbers in high performing businesses. Group headcount now stands at 2,728.”</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="94" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="131" valign="top"> <strong>H1 2015</strong>
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> <strong>H1 2014</strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> <strong>% Change</strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> <strong>% Change (CC)</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="94" valign="top"> Asia Pacific
</td><td width="131" valign="top"> £133.211 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> £113.266 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +18%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> N/A
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="94" valign="top"> UK
</td><td width="131" valign="top"> £184.325 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> £140.268 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +31%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> N/A
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="94" valign="top"> Europe
</td><td width="131" valign="top"> £54.195 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> £51.902 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +4%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> N/A
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="94" valign="top"> Other International
</td><td width="131" valign="top"> £5.877 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> £4.552 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +29%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> N/A
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="94" valign="top"> <strong>Total</strong>
</td><td width="131" valign="top"> <strong>£377.606 million</strong>
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> <strong>£309.998 million</strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +22%
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +25%
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Revenue across Asia Pacific increased by 18.0% to £113.3 million, up from £113.2 million in H1 2013. Net fee income in the region increased by 9% to £47.0m delivering a 37% increase in operating profit to £4.7m.</p><p>The Australian business continues to perform well, reporting its third successive quarter of single digit growth. Despite this, the Australian market (which is Robert Walters’ largest business in the region) remains challenging. Permanent hiring activity has increased but is unpredictable whilst contract has performed well.</p><p>In Asia, businesses in emerging markets continued to deliver excellent results with Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam all growing net fee income in excess of 100% year-on-year. Business in Thailand also performed extremely well whilst the company’s larger more established businesses in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore produced solid performances consolidating our market-leading position across the region. &nbsp;</p><p>In Robert Walters’ home market, the UK, revenue for the half year was £184.3 million, equating to year-on-year growth of +31% from £140.2 million in H1 2013. Gross profit for the UK increased by +20.9% to £32.2 million, up from £26.7 million last year.</p><p>Candidate and client confidence in the UK has continued to improve with recruitment activity levels showing broad-based growth across both London and the regions. In London, financial services, commerce finance and sales & marketing were the strongest performers in the first half, with Manchester and Milton Keynes the standouts at a regional level. A new office was opened in St. Albans in the first half to further build on the company’s strong UK performance.</p><p>Resource Solutions continued to produce strong growth in net fee income across both existing and new clients.</p><p>Across Europe, revenue during H1 2015 was £54.2 million, an increase of +4% from £51.9 million in H1 2014. Gross profit increased by +4.6% to £21.9 million, compared with £20.9 million a year ago.</p><p>Business in the Netherlands enjoyed a very strong first half across both permanent and contract recruitment whilst both Spain and Ireland continued to grow, a continuation of the trend seen over the last two years. Belgium delivered solid net fee income growth as did the French contract business, however the permanent recruitment market in France remained challenging throughout the first half of the year. The company believes it is well positioned to benefit from any recovery in French permanent hiring activity.</p><p>The company’s ‘Other International’ revenue for the period was £5.9 million, up by +29% from £4.6 million a year ago. The US, South Africa and the Middle East all delivered record performances, with the office in Dubai delivering the strongest year-on-year growth. The US has benefited from a recovery in financial services in New York to complement the long-term growth in the digital space in California, whilst in South Africa multinationals in particular are now recruiting for growth. The company reports that market conditions in Brazil remain challenging although the business has delivered an increase in net fee income year-on-year.</p><p>Broken down by business segment, the company’s Resource Solutions business accounted for 36.7% of total revenue during H1 2015, compared with 30.5% of revenue in H1 2014. Year-on-year, revenue derived from Resource Solutions increased by +46.9% to £138.7 million, compared with £94.4 million last year.</p><p>Revenue from Robert Walters’ core recruitment business in H1 2014 was £215.6 million, a decrease of -5.7% from £228.4 million last year.&nbsp;</p><p>Looking forward, the company advised that the outlook for the second half of the year is generally positive with candidate and client confidence improving across all of the Group's regions. Trading since the half year has been in line with our expectations and the Group remains confident of its prospects for the full year.</p><p>In trading today, the company’s share price <strong>increased</strong> by 0.34% to £4.41, an increase of 38.4% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of £334.2 million.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-Robert-Walters-reports-revenue-growth-across-all-regions-34867Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:00:23 +0000Oman – Amnesty extended for illegal migrant workershttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Oman-Amnesty-extended-for-illegal-migrant-workers-34880
<p>Oman has extended its amnesty for illegal foreign workers to leave the country without being fined to the end of October, according to a press note from the Ministry of Manpower. More than 14,000 illegal workers have applied for the amnesty so far.A Ministry official stated that more than 60,000 foreigners, mostly from the Indian subcontinent, have taken advantage of the six-month period which started on 3<sup>rd</sup> May.</p><p>
The Sultanate had earlier offered amnesty for undocumented workers in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and tens of thousands of such migrant workforce had left the country without facing legal actions.<br />
<br /> However, the Ministry of Manpower has urged people to make use of the grace period failing which severe action would be initiated against them. The amnesty will only apply to absconding workers and those who have overstayed their visa periods.&nbsp;</p><p>
"We urge the undocumented workers living in the country to make use of the extended general pardon and facilitate though their respective diplomatic missions", the statement said.<br />
<br />
Expatriates constitute 1.82 million, or 44%, of Oman's total population of 4.16 million. "Illegal workers will be allowed to leave the country as long as they don't have any pending cases," said the official.<br />
<br /> According to Omani media reports, there are around 40,000 undocumented Bangladeshi workers, 4,000 Pakistanis and 3,000 Indians. Some 546,487 Bangladeshis, 609,096 Indians and 214,258 Pakistani workers have valid official documents.&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Oman-Amnesty-extended-for-illegal-migrant-workers-34880Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:07:13 +0000Singapore – Ministry responds to slowing employment figureshttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Ministry-responds-to-slowing-employment-figures-34881
<p>It was reported <a href="http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Unemployment-rate-increases-in-Q2-34864" target="_blank">yesterday</a>&nbsp;that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up from 1.8% in March to 2.0% in June. Among residents, unemployment rose to 2.8% while for citizens, unemployment rose to 2.9%, similar to the situation a year ago.</p><p>Overall employment grew by 15,700 in the second quarter, supported by increases in construction and services. However, taken as a whole, employment growth in the first half of this year has moderated compared to a year ago.</p><p>Manpower Minster Lim Swee Say has taken to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sweesaylim/posts/959025830787663" target="_blank">Facebook</a>&nbsp;to comment on the statistics .On the growth in unemployment rate for citizens, the Minister wrote: “We must make sure that this is not due to a growing mismatch between the skills and expectations of the job seekers versus the skills requirements and job offerings from the employers.”</p><p>He explained how the Ministry is working to correct this potential mismatch, saying, “I&nbsp;am not taking any chances on this. Together with our partners in the unions, business industries and government agencies, my colleagues at MOM and WDA (Singapore Workforce Development Agency) and I are pushing hard and running fast on SkillsFuture (a scheme to provide Singaporeans with enhance training and skills) to minimise this potential mismatch as we create better career opportunities for Singaporeans at all levels.”</p><p>“Our employment situation is by no means perfect, but it is one of the best in the world. Our employment rate is one of the highest globally while our unemployment rate is one of the lowest. We must strive to keep it this way for as long as we can,” wrote Lim in the&nbsp;post.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Singapore-Ministry-responds-to-slowing-employment-figures-34881Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:10:48 +0000Japan – Labour market continues ‘on recovery path’http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Labour-market-continues-on-recovery-path-34882
<p>The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.4% in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced. That was above forecasts for 3.3%, which would have been unchanged from the May reading. This represented the first rise in unemployment for five months.</p><p>The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.20 in June, meaning that 120 positions were available for every 100 job seekers. This was in line with expectations and up from 1.19 in the previous month. The participation rate was 60.0%, up from 59.8% a month earlier.</p><p>An official of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said the labour market "continues to be on a recovery path," as the jobless rate has stayed below 3.5% and the number of employed women hit a record high.</p><p>The unemployment rate for women was up 0.1% to 3.1%, while that for men stayed flat at 3.6%, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Some 27.72 million women were on the payroll in June, the highest since comparable data became available in 1953. The total number of people holding jobs gained 0.5% from May to 63.91 million.</p><p>Demand for labour appears to be strong in the health-care and information technology sectors, as the number of jobs increased by 500,000, or 6.7%, and 120,000, or 5.8%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Japan-Labour-market-continues-on-recovery-path-34882Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:14:00 +0000World – LinkedIn continues strong growth in Q2http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-LinkedIn-continues-strong-growth-in-Q2-34883
<p>LinkedIn (LNKD: NYSE), the online professional network, yesterday reported revenue for the second quarter ending June 2015 of USD 712 million, an increase of 33.3% from USD 534 million during the same period last year.</p><p>Unique visiting members to jobs-related pages improved approximately 40% year-over-year, while the recently launched Job Search app reached more than 3 million activations from approximately 1 million during the first quarter. In addition, the number of jobs on the platform also increased to nearly 4 million from approximately 1 million last year.</p><p>In the second quarter, the company closed the $1.5 billion&nbsp;acquisition&nbsp;of lynda.com, adding to the LinkedIn platform 6,800 courses through 280,000 videos across five languages.</p><p>Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, commented: "LinkedIn continued to deliver increased member and customer value in the second quarter while delivering solid financial results. We continued to invest in our long-term strategic roadmap and began integrating the acquisition of lynda.com that closed during the quarter.”</p><p>LinkedIn generates revenue from three primary business segments:</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="159" valign="top"> <strong>&nbsp;</strong>
</td><td width="121" valign="top"> <strong>Q2 2015</strong>
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> <strong>Q2 2014</strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> <strong>Change </strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="159" valign="top"> Talent Solutions
</td><td width="121" valign="top"> USD 443 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> USD 322million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +38%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="159" valign="top"> Marketing Solutions
</td><td width="121" valign="top"> USD 140 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> USD 106 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +32%
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="159" valign="top"> Premium Subscriptions
</td><td width="121" valign="top"> USD 128 million
</td><td width="118" valign="top"> USD 105 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +22%
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>In terms of geography, the impact from currency and continued weakness in&nbsp;EMEA Marketing Solutions resulted in a decline in the percentage of revenue generated outside the US, from 40% last year to 38% in the second quarter:</p><table class="renderedtable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tr class="bglight"><td width="136" valign="top"> &nbsp;
</td><td width="146" valign="top"> <strong>Q2 2015</strong>
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> <strong>Q2 2014</strong>
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> <strong>Change</strong>
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="136" valign="top"> EMEA
</td><td width="146" valign="top"> USD 169 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD &nbsp;135 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +25%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="136" valign="top"> APAC
</td><td width="146" valign="top"> USD 59 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 46 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +28%
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="136" valign="top"> Other Americas
</td><td width="146" valign="top"> USD &nbsp;40 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 36 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +12%
</td></tr><tr class="bglight"><td width="136" valign="top"> United States
</td><td width="146" valign="top"> USD &nbsp;445 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 318 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +40%
</td></tr><tr class="bgdark"><td width="136" valign="top"> <strong>Total</strong>
</td><td width="146" valign="top"> USD 712 million
</td><td width="128" valign="top"> USD 534 million
</td><td width="95" valign="top"> +33%
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Looking forward, the company expects revenue of between USD 745 million and USD 750 million in Q3 2015. For the full year, revenue is expected to be USD 2.94 billion, up from an earlier forecast of 2.90 billion.</p><p>In trading yesterday, the company’s share price closed down 2.9% at USD 227.15, an increase of 621.28% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of USD 29.22 billion. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Matt Norton)http://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/World-LinkedIn-continues-strong-growth-in-Q2-34883Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:15:56 +0000